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TVotR gets chaos down to a science
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Also by Roland Nimis:
- Oasis 'digs' deep, finds plenty of Beatles lyrics (October 8, 2008)
- TVotR gets chaos down to a science (September 25, 2008)
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Watching a hurricane from space is beautiful and calmingly mesmerizing because it symbolizes the unity of math and art. Closer to earth, chaos is a more apt modifier. Fela Kuti, the father of afrobeat, was able make exciting, complex and genre-bending orchestrations that were tumultuous and also comprehensible. With the inclusion of Antibalas on some choice cuts of Dear Science, TV on the Radio has transposed Kuti’s elaborate loveliness onto rock, soul and funk.
TVotR makes songs that are of the moment, with visceral emotions from angst to plaintiveness that are well represented from Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone’s lyrics. They refuse to be locked in time, however, as they ensure their protests are not specific enough to be labeled “protest songs” or pointed enough to be considered punk. They work more with how it feels to be trapped in the 2000s with lyrics like, “I’m living a life not worth dying for.” They remain hopeful, however, as they predict a golden age to be born like a natural disaster. Other musicians should be taking notes on how TVotR can find a voice in this political season without writing odes to Obama.
On their previous effort, Return to Cookie Mountain, the Brooklyn quintet generally operated in a light haze or sounded like they recorded in a grain silo. On Science, these barriers have been taken down to create an intimate and more sensual sound. There are no absolutes with TVotR, as they are constantly experimenting with new genres while adhering to the structural constraints of rock.
The vocals are as eclectic as the rhythms, with the band bouncing from the closest they’ll come to Coldplay on the drumless “Family Tree” to the madly funky “Red Dress.” Malone laments, “And in the shadow of the gallows of your family tree/ There’s a hundred hearts soar free/ Pumping blood to the roots of evil to keep it young” on the former while Adebimpe rages, “Hey, jackboot/ fuck your war/ cause I’m fat and in love and no bombs are fallin’ on me for sure” on the latter. The juxtaposition of the two vocals adds to the poignance of the lyrics, taking the highs higher and the lows lower.
What is sure to be Science’s first single, “Dancing Choose” finds the band at their most accesible, with Adebimpe almost rapping over a buzzy synth and cool guitar riff, backed by Malone’s harmonic falsetto and Antibalas’ triumphant horns. This layering is prevalent on much of the album, and TVotR succeeds in not overwhelming by deftly changing the groove so that the beginning of a song hardly resembles what the song finally evolves into. Nowhere is this truer than on “Shout Me Out,” which begins as echoed lounge, turns into stunning breakbeat, takes a breath of air, then continues with a shouting match over an increasingly intricate Velvet Underground guitar freak-out.
Whether they play shoegaze guitar on “Halfway Home,” pay homage to Prince on “Golden Age” or mix post-rock and trip hop on “DLZ,” TVotR sound like seasoned veterans and always sound like TVotR. Like Fela Kuti’s sprawling, disjointed masterpieces, if you step back from the noise of Dear Science, you can hear a fabulously cohesive whole.
4 1/2 stars out of 5
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